


among the moon and stars

by falloutboyandgaysmut



Category: One Direction
Genre: And space, Bc that's my fave, Bottom Zayn, Friends to Lovers, Harry is the art teacher, Jealous Liam, Liam is secretly a huge dork, Liam's captain of the footie team, Multi, Niall's the English teacher, Smut, Top Liam, Why wouldn't there be smut, Zayn is obsessed with instrumentals, Zayn never wears short sleeves, Zayn wears his glasses a lot, Zayn's a nerd who might have a lot of tattoos, duh - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-04-15
Updated: 2016-04-15
Packaged: 2018-06-02 10:42:11
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,882
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6563092
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/falloutboyandgaysmut/pseuds/falloutboyandgaysmut
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>“I also wanted to say thank you for letting me use your notes. Mr. Horan said they’d help. Here, I photocopied it, here’s the copy.” He pulled it out of his bag, almost handing it to Zayn before he cursed. <br/>	“Shit, that one’s mine. Sorry.” Liam blushed furiously as he procured another copy from his bag, thrusting this one at Zayn. <br/>	“Gotta run! Catch you later!” He called, the door of the shop tinkling as he walked out. Zayn smiled to himself as he thought about what had just happened. Although both copies should have been exactly the same, Liam gave him the one Zayn had originally given him with the two flowers. Only now, the captain of the footie team had drawn a whole meadow around the two original flowers. <br/>	“How sweet.” Zayn whispered, getting up and throwing away his coffee cup. He felt ten times better than he had before, and seeing the captain of the footie team draw a meadow lifted his mood greatly. He looked at Liam fondly as they walked their separate directions to the footie pitch and the observatory.</p>
            </blockquote>





	among the moon and stars

**Author's Note:**

> I saw this thing on Tumblr and thought it would make the perfect fic! Also I'm trying not to abandon one work to start the next but I kinda did. I'm like in the middle of my other one right now when I thought of this, so I completely put that one on hold and then worked on this for like 4 days. It's not amazing, but I hope y'all enjoy

“Hey.  _ Hey _ .” Zayn whispered, trying to nudge the boy in the desk next to him. It was 45 minutes into the 90 minute lecture, and the boy had already fallen asleep. Sure, it was English, but he could still stomach it. 

Of course, English was Zayn’s best subject so he didn’t really have to worry about the consequences (that, and the teacher was one of Zayn’s best friends). In fact,  _ he  _ should be the one sleeping. Majoring in English Literature and Art was no small task, but couple that with the fact that he was working shifts at the library made his schedule nothing short of hectic. Still, he figured he should be helping this boy get an education. The boy didn’t stir, and Zayn noticed the blank paper on his desk that should have been full of notes. Zayn sighed, leaning over and drawing a small flower on it, humming to himself as he did so. When he was finished, he leaned back over and adjusted his glasses, looking back at his teacher, Niall. 

Half an hour later, the boy hadn’t woken up, and Zayn started doodling a second flower on the paper, not too far from the first. He was almost finished when the boy suddenly woke up, looking at Zayn wide-eyed.

“S-Sorry! I just, I dunno. Sorry, here.” He whispered, leaning away again after making the finishing touches to the second beautiful flower. 

“Is there a problem, Mr. Payne?” Zayn heard Niall’s voice from the front of the room. 

“No, sir.” Said the boy next to him, sliding down in his seat, looking sheepishly at his desk. Niall rolled his eyes and sat back on his desk, continuing his lecture. When he had finished, everyone filed out of the room except for Zayn, who walked to the front. 

“Hey, mate. Good lecture.” Zayn said, taking an apple out of his bag. 

“Teacher’s pet brought me an apple, eh?” Niall smirked, leaning back.

“Oh cute, you thought this was for you.” Zayn rolled his eyes, taking a bite. They continued to talk for a few minutes before they heard a soft voice.

“Excuse me, Professor Horan, could I ask you a question?” Zayn and Niall turned their heads. 

“Of course, Mr. Payne. But please, call me Niall.” He chided, walking with him to the back behind his desk. Zayn gathered his things, looking at the time, and headed to the library.

 

**** **** **** ****

 

“Hey, Bri. I’m here for my shift.” He whispered, setting his bags behind the desk, chuckling at the look of relief that washed over Bri’s face when she saw him ready to take over. Bri was about 50 years old with a few gray streaks in her hair, and plenty of lines on her face from years of laughing. She had the kindest of eyes, and Zayn considered her his mother away from home. 

“Thanks, Zayn. You’re such a good help.” She whispered, patting him on the back and hurried out of the library. Zayn quickly got to work, reshelving books in their correct places, humming quietly, checking out books for other students, and kicking some off the computers who weren’t doing what they were supposed to be doing. He was 10 minutes away from closing up when he heard the door tinkle open. He groaned to himself, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes before walking over. 

“Hey how can I - oh! Um, what’re you doing here?” Zayn asked, the words coming out harsher than he meant them to.

“S-sorry, I know that it’s rude to come in so close to closing time, but I was wondering if you had those notes from today? Mr. Horan said you probably would, and he told me where I could find you.” The boy from his class whispered sheepishly, playing with his white t-shirt. 

“Oh, yeah. Here.” Zayn murmured, heading to his bag, wincing at the two flowers he had also drawn on his own sheet. He handed it to the boy, looking into his soft brown eyes.

“But don’t you need these?” He asked, frowning at Zayn’s empty hand. 

“No, Niall knows I don’t, but thanks for the concern.” Zayn smiled softly, leaning back against the desk. The boy nodded slowly, before opening his mouth.

“Well, anyway, I’m L-” He was interrupted by the door flying open, a bunch of rowdy boys coming in. Zayn winced, cringing back into the desk, biting his lip. The boy whirled around, grinning at his friends as they all started practically yelling. 

Zayn grimaced as they wheeled him around and out of the library. He sighed and ran a hand through his hair, noticing the brown-eyed boy turning around to look at him one more time as he was escorted out of the library. 

 

**** **** **** ****

 

Zayn liked the idea of only having classes on Mondays and Tuesdays. He crammed the schedule for the beginning of the week, and left the rest of the week for homework and work, and maybe the occasional free time. Stretching his muscles, he held up his key card to the reader, walking by administration and into his dorm hall. Shaking his head, he picked up a few beer cans by some of the doors and threw them away, opening the door to his own room.

“Hey, mate. You good?” His roommate, Louis, asked, not even looking up from his laptop where he was furiously typing away.

“Yeah,” Zayn answered softly, settling on his bed and opened his own laptop, yawning softly. Louis had been his best friend since he was only a toddler, always having been there for anything Zayn needed, even when they moved to college.

“Anything new?” Louis asked, finally taking a break to look up at Zayn. Zayn looked up, rubbing the blurryness out of his eyes.

“Some of the football players came into the library right before closing, nearly shit myself.” Zayn huffed, flopping back on his bed.

“Hmm, yeah? Why’s that?” Louis asked, looking back at his computer.

“Think they were after one of their boys. He’s in my English class and he came to see me for notes because he fell asleep during the lecture.” Zayn answered, playing with the hem of his shirt.

“Yeah? And what’s his name?” Louis sounded far away as he began typing again. A paper for their new art teacher, Zayn suspected, Professor Styles. He rolled his eyes.

“Knick Knack Paddywhack.” He answered. Louis gave a halfhearted mumble of acknowledgement and Zayn rolled his eyes again, getting up.

“‘M getting coffee.” He didn’t even bother asking if Louis wanted any, because he knew that he would say yes. He slipped on some moccasins, adjusting his glasses and walked out, making sure his phone was on so he wouldn’t have to look at anybody.

It wasn’t necessarily that Zayn didn’t like talking to strangers in his dorm hallway and on the way to the campus coffee shop, but he just couldn’t bring himself to do it. Something about meeting new people always intrigued him, but terrified him at the same time, and he just couldn’t do it, so he brought his phone so he never had to worry about making awkward eye contact.

When Zayn got to the coffee shop, it was nearly empty, except for a few people on their laptops, finishing up papers. He inhaled the intoxicating scent of the ground coffee beans, looking at his watch. 10:17 p.m. He yawned, looking over the menu. 

“Can I have two half cafs?” He asked softly, handing the barista a ten.

He had almost made it to his dorm when he heard a yelp behind him. He turned around to find the source, only to be knocked to the ground. His head smacked against the pavement and the scalding coffee splashed up around his chest. He cried out, clutching at his head, hearing a small tinkle of broken glass, his vision suddenly becoming blurry out of one eye.

“What the fuck?” He rasped, rubbing at his head. 

“Oh my god, Tom, look what you fucking did. What the hell, Tom?” A loud voice yelled. Zayn could hear someone running over to him. The next thing he knew was that he felt himself being dragged upwards. 

“Too fast.” He whimpered, clutching at his head which had begun to pound when he was lifted.

“Shit shit shit. Fuck. Oh my god, I’m so sorry, my friend is such a fucking dumbass. Are you okay? What’s your - Zayn?” Zayn looked up at the boy to find that he was the same doe-eyed boy from his English class. He smiled woozily, trying to stand.

“‘S me.” He answered, wobbling a little before falling back over onto the boy. 

“Oh my god, Tom you’re so stupid!” The boy shouted.

“Hey, I’m fine. ‘S okay. My head just hurts, that’s all.” He whispered, looking down at his clothes, which seemed to be wet for some reason. Why were they wet? He couldn’t remember. 

“Why am I wet?” He asked, looking down at his shirt. 

“I dunno, were you getting coffee?” He asked, pointing at some latte cups on the ground.

“Yeah! Yeah I was. My chest kinda stings though.” Zayn mumbled, looking down his black jumper, which darkened at the chest where the coffee had spilled and burned him.

“Mm, my head, mate. Watch my head.” He grumbled, his hands starting to shake from the pain in his head.

“Sorry, my bad.” The boy whispered. “Where’s your dorm?” He asked, looking around at the four or five buildings that surrounded them.

“The gray building. 213.” Zayn murmured before he started feeling sleepy, and before he knew it, he was asleep.

  
  


**** **** **** ****

 

“Fuck, he’s asleep. Tom, what the hell, mate?” Liam whisper shouted, glaring at his best friend as they headed into the gray building. 

“I’m sorry! He’s so small, I didn’t see the guy!” Tom answered, glaring right back. “Besides! I wouldn’t have been running if you wouldn’t have said you were gonna smack me.” He whispered, looking nervously at Zayn. 

Administration gave them a few looks as they hoisted Zayn into the elevator. 

“He’s tired; we’re bringing him back to the dorm so he can sleep.” Tom explained, the door sliding shut. 

“What number did he say? 215?” Liam asked, looking over at Tom.

“No, I think it was 218.” He answered, looking at Liam. He rolled his eyes, the elevator door and stepped out onto the floor. 

They knocked on 215, a stoned guy opening the door.

“Hey man, what’s this?” He asked. Liam turned around to reveal Zayn.

“Is he your roommate?” He asked the guy. The guy shook his head. They started heading down the hall to 218 and they heard a soft, “Bye Buddy, I hope you find your dad,” followed by some soft chuckles. Liam rolled his eyes as they knocked on 218.

“Yeah?” Thankfully, a normal-looking guy opened the door. 

“Is he your roommate?” Liam asked. The guy shook his head, point back down the hallway by Stoner’s dorm. 

“213.” He said, smiling slightly before closing the door, leaving Liam to huff softly. 

“This better be the right fucking dorm.” Liam grumbled, knocking on the door. A small guy with tousled brown hair opened the door, frowning at Liam. 

“Can I help you?” He asked, raising an eyebrow. 

“Does this man belong to you?” Liam asked, turning around. 

“Zayn! What the fuck did you do to him?” Louis glared, opening the door wider so they could bring him in.

“ _ I _ didn’t do anything.  _ Tom,  _ however, knocked him over.” Liam answered, running a hand through his hair nervously. 

“Where’s the fucking coffee?” Louis seethed through his teeth. It was at this point that Liam noticed the huge purple circles under his eyes. 

“It spilled on him when he fell.” Liam winced as he looked at Zayn’s chest. They laid him on the bed, his chest rising and falling slowly.

“Stupid fucking footie players. Can’t do a single thing. Can’t leave my best mate alone when we just wanted coffee. Just get out.” Louis groaned, running a hand through his hair. Tom practically ran out of the room, but Liam stuck around for a little bit, whispering a quick, “Sorry,” to a sleeping Zayn before going. 

  
  


**** **** **** ****

 

Zayn cracked an eye open, groaning loudly. He winced as he tried sitting up, the pounding in his head only getting worse.

“What happened, Lou? Louis?” He murmured softly, looking around their small dorm. Louis was nowhere to be found, but there were a few pills and a bottle of water on the nightstand next to him. With shaky hands, he opened the bottle of water, drinking the entire thing in one go, looking at the pills. 

“Probably should’ve taken those.” He whispered, looking at the clock, which read 12:13 in the afternoon. He rubbed at his head, looking around for his shoes. Why were they by the door? Why wasn’t he out right now? 

“Oh, right. Got decked by some footie players.” He whispered to himself, slowly slipping his shoes on as he shuffled out of his room, looking around the empty hallway outside. He walked quietly, every noise like a gunshot right in his ear that made his head pound even harder. By the time he made it to the coffee shop, he had small beads of sweat forming on his neck from the effort to get there. He opened the door, seeing no one around except a barista on his phone behind the counter. 

“Where is everyone?” He asked.

“Probably classes, I suspect. I dunno, we don’t usually have any customers right about now. Who are you?” He asked. 

“Zayn. I came in here last night.” He muttered, looking around at the empty shop. “English and art major. I only have classes 2 days a week.” He explained, handing the man a 10. 

“Venti iced mocha with chocolate chips.” He muttered again, taking a seat at the table at the back of the shop. The man came over with his coffee, handing him his change. Zayn sat their, quietly sipping away, watching the weather outside the small shop. It felt so homey to Zayn, who hadn’t been home in 3 years. His mother had divorced and they moved to the next town over, more than 60 miles away. 

He took his phone out of his pocket, looking at old photos of him and Louis. Oh, how they’d grown. Louis’ hair used to be so short, and Zayn used to have ink-free skin. He looked down at the oversized maroon sweater he was wearing and the baggy gray joggers he was sporting, smiling softly. No one knew he had any tattoos except for Louis, and that was how it would stay. 

The door to the shop tinkled open occasionally, with frazzled-looking students ordering copious amounts of caffeine to help them. Zayn simply shook his head, sipping away at his iced coffee. That was, until a certain brown-eyed boy walked in. And of course, he spotted Zayn right away. 

“Zayn! Good to see you out and about. Listen, I’m so sorry about Tom and what happened. Are you okay?” He asked, taking a seat at Zayn’s table. Zayn nodded, adjusting his glasses. 

“Yeah, I’m good, uh…” he trailed off, only then realizing that he didn’t know the boy’s name. 

“Oh! I’m Liam. Captain of the footie team.” Liam answered, smiling widely. Zayn’s cheeks glowed a soft pink and he smiled down into his coffee. Of course his name was Liam. Everything about him just  _ had _ to be perfect. 

“Well,  _ Liam, _ I’m just fine. Head hurts a little, but that’s about it.” He answered, finally looking back at him. Liam smiled right back, running a hand through his hair.

“Good! I was worried. I went to check up on you earlier, but your roommate just told me to fuck off or he’d take my football and shove it up my ass.” Liam replied, frowning down at his hands. Zayn rolled his eyes. Leave it to Louis to be a complete ass.

“‘S okay, mate. He’s just upset with you, that’s all. I’ll tell him there’s nothing to be upset about.” Zayn smiled, patting his arm. Liam grinned again.

“I also wanted to say thank you for letting me use your notes. Mr. Horan said they’d help. Here, I photocopied it, here’s the copy.” He pulled it out of his bag, almost handing it to Zayn before he cursed. 

“Shit, that one’s mine. Sorry.” Liam blushed furiously as he procured another copy from his bag, thrusting this one at Zayn. 

“Gotta run! Catch you later!” He called, the door of the shop tinkling as he walked out. Zayn smiled to himself as he thought about what had just happened. Although both copies should have been exactly the same, Liam gave him the one Zayn had originally given him with the two flowers. Only now, the captain of the footie team had drawn a whole meadow around the two original flowers. 

“How sweet.” Zayn whispered, getting up and throwing away his coffee cup. He felt ten times better than he had before, and seeing the captain of the  _ footie team  _ draw a meadow lifted his mood greatly. He looked at Liam fondly as they walked their separate directions to the footie pitch and the observatory.


End file.
